Magic Kingdom

Learning that sloppy roller-coaster maintenance at Disneyland caused Marcelo Torres' death won't bring about a Disney-style happy ending for the 22-year-old man's family. But because the state finally has some regulatory power over amusement parks, the finding will lead to changes that might save other lives. Once upon a time, the Magic Kingdom reigned over its rides with virtually no oversight.

More drama in the Magic kingdom Dwight Howard wrapped an arm around Stan Van Gundy on Thursday, a gesture intended by the Orlando superstar as a show of support for his embattled coach. It felt more like a front put up by a separating couple. The Magic coach had disclosed to reporters only a few moments earlier that franchise management had confirmed Howard's previous request for him to be fired. As Van Gundy was concluding his remarks, Howard approached and placed an arm around Van Gundy, unaware of the bombshell that had been unleashed.

October 14, 1999 | E. SCOTT RECKARDA, E. Scott Reckard covers tourism for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7407 and at scott.reckard@latimes.com

Assembled in Anaheim to promote the Downtown Disney entertainment mall, tenants-to-be got the Magic Kingdom treatment Tuesday night: a reception at Disneyland's private Club 33 and dinner at the Haunted Mansion. The latter featured a band of musical zombies, fog machines, tombstones with guests' names, and spooky harpsichord music accompanying the meal. . . .

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning snagged his second Most Valuable Player Award in Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, but he also scored another milestone: He will be the fifth football star to twice have declared, "I'm going to Disney World !" after the Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17 in Indianapolis. Manning will appear today at the Orlando theme park for one day only at 1:20 p.m. (Eastern) for a Super Bowl MVP Parade down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom.

Disneyland has been giving away a car a day for the past 16 months to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Next month, they will also start giving away burros. Have pack animals replaced Pontiacs in the Magic Kingdom's gate giveaway? "No, it's something different," said Al Flores, a spokesman for the Anaheim theme park. "We're still giving away cars."

It's enough to make a visitor to Disneyland wish for Yesterdayland. Joe Soter of Tustin says that his son Joseph and a pal spent a day at the Magic Kingdom, and "when they got home, they complained about the lady on the Autopia ride who backed up traffic while talking on her cellphone the whole time!" Guess she couldn't simultaneously gab and press her foot on the accelerator. Opined the elder Soter: "Too bad the ride's cars don't have horns!" No age discrimination here!

Score another publicity coup for Disneyland. The media calls have poured in from around the globe. Europe. The Far East. Even a television station in India has checked in. They all want to know about Elizabeth Taylor's 60th birthday party tonight. To each of them, park spokesman Greg Albrecht gives essentially the same response: "This is not a Disneyland project. It's a private party. We're not commenting on the party," he says in a huff.

It isn't a cheap thrill. In fact, Disneyland gets more expensive all the time. And now--just in time for the Christmas rush--Disneyland has once again raised its ticket prices by $2, bringing the cost of adult admission to $25.50 for a one-day pass. Children's admission is now $20.50 for a one-day ticket, up from $18.50. And parking is now $4, up from $3.

Movie stars, TV actors, rock singers, fashion models and professional athletes need a vacation just like everybody else. But when you're more famous than Mickey Mouse, it's not as easy to blend in with the crowd -- even at Disney World. Photos : See celebrities at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom To navigate the vast resort and avoid hassles from overzealous fans, celebrities trade front-of-the-line VIP treatment from Disney World for a few snapshots inside the Orlando theme parks that show up in celebrity magazines and on entertainment shows.

Harrison "Buzz" Price, an engineer turned theme-park strategist whose research led Walt Disney to place Magic Kingdoms in Anaheim and Orlando, has died. He was 89. Price died Sunday of chronic anemia at Mt. San Antonio Gardens' hospice in Pomona, his family said. He "was as much responsible for the success of the Walt Disney Co. as anybody except Walt Disney himself," Michael Eisner, former chief executive of the company, said in a statement. After Disney turned to Price in 1953 for advice on where to build his first theme park, the engineer analyzed population trends, land prices, accessibility and climate — and zeroed in on a 160-acre orange grove in Anaheim.

When the last horn finally sounded Saturday night, the Orlando Magic and its fans partied like it was 1995. The sellout crowd inside Amway Arena roared. White, blue and silver confetti fell from the ceiling. The Magic had closed out the Eastern Conference finals in six games and ended Madison Avenue's dreams of a Kobe Bryant-LeBron James championship matchup. Kobe versus Dwight will have to do.

Some Broadway stars cut their teeth in regional theater, or in off-off Broadway shows. But Eden Espinosa, who stars as Elphaba, Wicked Witch of the West -- a.k.a. the "Green Girl" -- in "Wicked," at the Pantages Theatre, got her start doing shows at Disneyland. This is off-Broadway -- way off Broadway.

Ocean Odyssey BBC Video $19.98 For the family (too intense for young children) www.bbcamerica.com The life of a sperm whale is told through a masterful mix of live action and CGI effects that plunge viewers into ocean depths barely explored by humankind. There are mountains taller than Everest, abysses deeper than the Grand Canyon, erupting volcanoes, absolute darkness, titanic storms and deadly adversaries.

WITH vacation season looming, finding ways to cut the cost of a trip to Orlando, Fla., is a concern for many families. Adult tickets to Disney World cost $67 a day, and children's tickets aren't much less. And Disney's value-class resorts (the All-Star Sports Resort, the All-Star Movie Resort, etc.) are often booked; they also now cost a minimum of $79 per room per day. You can save money at properties away from the theme parks. These acceptable digs cost about $50 a night most of the year.

Kasey Keller speeds home along the autobahn after practice each day, then winds down country roads until the two turrets appear through the trees, the black metal gates swing open and he pulls into the driveway. He may very well be the only player preparing for the World Cup who makes his home in a castle. Next to a cattle farm in a small town in northwest Germany, the starting goalkeeper for the U.S.